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September 5, 2012

You all may have noticed that my crafting has slowed down a lot over the last couple of months. Mostly that's been due to my having to travel back and forth to Sydney to help care for my mother who has been very sick. Having just moved into an apartment by myself has also had a lot to do with it. I am now paying much higher rent than I used to which has left me a bit strapped for cash and sadly, I was getting almost no sales (I wasn't even making enough to pay for the monthly site fee) on my web-store so I had to give it up. I have now reached a stage where I am not making enough extra cash to cover the purchase of more supplies and that means I wont be spontaneously crafting much from now on. This saddens me because I really wanted to make the web-store work. But I'm keeping a positive frame of mind and am looking at it as a sign that its just not meant to be.

I have just started taking knitting commissions to help supplement my, admittedly low income. I charge $12 an hour plus the cost of whichever of my handspun yarns you want to use, or I am happy to use your yarn. All is open to negotiation and I will always endeavour to work out a price/system that is reasonable for both of us. I generally only take orders for lace knitting at this point. If you would like me to knit something for you please feel free to contact me on FB or by email.

As most of you are aware by now, my life is taking a new (or old, depending how you look at it) direction and I am planning on going back to Uni next year to study art. I have been working almost every day to dust off my extremely rusty skills. I am having a hard time reconnecting with my inner artist and this is incredibly frustrating but I will persevere and I hope that soon the penny will drop and I will be back to my accustomed skill level. Accordingly, this blog has undergone yet another transformation into an art and craft blog. If you are not interested in this transformation I will totally understand but I hope all of you will stay with me and support this change. Those of you who decide to stay with me are welcome, of course, to comment and have dialogue about what you see here but please remember that all images of artworks shown here are protected by international copyright and intellectual property laws so you may not reproduce them in any format without my express written permission...which, to protect my work, I am sorry to say will not be forthcoming. I hope that you will continue to link to my blog (text links only please) and share it with your friends as much as you like.

That's it from me for now. I think its time to get back to the drawing board. Have fun till next time :oD

August 3, 2012

I saw the above image on FB this morning. As expected there was,
of course, the requisite heated discussion about what it means from a feminists
point of view, and sadly, most of the women seemed to focus on how insulting
this image was towards larger women. From
a purely physical perspective mind you. There was a lot of talk about how both
women were beautiful…so there! Also
there was some talk about what being fat meant from an anthropological
stance. A couple of people went so far
as to discuss the concept that reaching for her feet meant the big girl was
trying to exercise and thereby reach the pinnacle of physical beauty. There was a lot of back and forth and admittedly,
there were a few well thought out articulate comments about how feminism and
equality are out of sync (and more on that later). But forget the sexualisation of the women. That didn’t even come into
consideration - not once did anyone address the idea that from a truly feminist
point of view, both of these images are unacceptable.

Let’s look at why …

On the left we have a moderately attractive (by popular
media standards) girl in cute lingerie, with some bangin’ curves. She is provocatively (but not glaringly so)
arranged upon a comfy looking bed. This image is bright and vibrant and looks
quite nice.

On the right we have a rather dangerously overweight
(from a health perspective) woman who is naked.
She is posing in a way that covers up parts of her anatomy on a bare, (possibly
cold), hard wooden floor. The image is dull and colourless and somewhat grainy.

Now let’s think about the words that come to mind when we
look at these images.

The image of the ‘curvy’ girl looks vibrant. Think how soft the bed looks, how smooth her skin looks and see how her
body language is open. She is sexy
and could be considered by some to be the ultimate in femininity because of that. From
a designers viewpoint this image is meant to appeal to the viewer on the most
sensual of levels.

The image of the larger girl is washed out. The lack of
colour makes the image seem somewhat depressing
and dull. Her body language is closed – she is covering up, almost as if she is trying to hide her
body - like she should be ashamed
somehow because she doesn’t meet the current accepted perception of physical
beauty. This image is designed to be
unappealing to the eye. It is meant to
make you reject it.

Now I’m no advertising exec but it seemed instantly clear
to me that this image is designed to do two things:

One: it is designed to tweak that part of female brains
that screams to us all that we must conform.
We must bust our asses to meet the standards of beauty that are set for
us by the mass media. If we do not, we
must feel bad about it, and ourselves.
By not conforming to the dictate that we must be thin to be beautiful,
and therefore loveable by men we are denying our right to have healthy self
esteem. WTF?

Two: this image is designed to spark controversy. In that regard, it achieved its goal. It was designed to make modern feminists (by
which I mean the non-thinking, blindly-following types) jump up and down and in
doing so ignore the underlying message that women are nothing more than sex
objects put on this planet for the sexual gratification of men.

Now I don’t know about you, but I was under the impression that this very issue
was the underlying reason for the feminist movement in the first place. Did I miss something?

So it achieved its goal.
There were a number of knee-jerk responses to the image. Here, please feel free to read some of the comments
that I found particularly interesting (please note F=Female poster, M=Male
poster. S=Me. All quotes are verbatim).

F – “Only a misogynist would think
that a feminist is "dumb". We're trying hard to lift men out of their
traditional roles also.”

–
Wow. Thanks for that. Cos you know, what boys/men want is right up there on my
list of priorities.

Missing the point entirely much?

Like I mentioned a little earlier,
there were also a goodly number of well thought out intelligent responses, which
really did give me hope for the future of our kind. Some of my favourites…

M – “This is just
evidence of privileged men thinking that women should define their self-worth
by whether men find them attractive.”

M – “Anthropologically: In times of scarcity (human
society before institutional agriculture), larger people are viewed (rightly)
as more successful and therefore more desirable.

In times of abundance, those who overindulge to the point that their health is
compromised (to any extent) are viewed (rightly) as less successful. From either angle, the desirable trait is
always Healthy.

That's
why we find beauty in visual symmetry, fitness, and ability. Any trait which compromises
any or all of those will reduce the individual's attractiveness to the
instinctive brain.”

M – “Feminists
want all women to be respected and treated like any other person. I respect
women, yet have, like any other man, my own idea of beauty. A feminist would
say that all women are beautiful in their own way. A dumb feminist would say that
all women have to be celebrated as beautiful. A dumb feminist would say that
for a man to find the larger woman ugly is misogynistic, when it is simply a
matter of choice. A smart feminist would say for a man to find the larger woman
ugly is his problem and he's missing out.”

If you
look at the Dove real beauty campaign, it fosters acceptance by presenting a
view of beauty that diverges from mainstream media definitions in a specific,
but not =strident= manner.

People
(even just persons) do not change by teleporting their views. It's not like a
financial negotiation where one starts high, the other low, and they meet in
the middle. Public opinion has to be cultured, nurtured, and guided, not
forced, shamed, and dictated to

This is a
legitimate complaint that speaks to a double standard whereby anything women
use to characterize men is okay - all is fair. But turnabout is not only no
longer fair play - it is outright forbidden. Ask yourself about the last time
you saw a man kick a woman in the genitals in a movie to comedic effect. When that
happens - you'll have equality. As long as special treatment is demanded, the
rift will remain

It is
because of extremists in the movement that a huge segment of society has dug in
its heels. You'd think the Equal Rights Amendment would be a no brainer, but
here we are 40 years later, when an interracial gay marriage is kinda cool
rather than a sign of the apocalypse - but still no ERA.

When it's
no longer cool for anyone to humiliate anyone, and for everyone to be permitted
to poke fun at everyone to the same extent - then we'll have the society that
encodes the ERA into its hardware.

The
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Demanding immediate
teleportation of opinion is ridiculous - and this image ridicules that demand.

Whether it
is done in a tasteful manner or not is not the point - the point is minds are changed
by choice, not by demand”

Which was
followed up by this glaringly uninspired (and in my opinion – palm facingly
unintelligent) response…

F – “Could we not
have men on this thread telling is what they think is acceptable, please?
Anthropologically or otherwise, shut the hell up. I'm a cranky fat feminist
too. Both images are beautiful..”

Because mens opinions about feminism and what it
means in society are unimportant somehow?
I was prompted by this to say my own piece…

S – “I'm
a fat equalist...but not cranky. I like that there are men here discussing
their views. That men are even aware of some of the implications of images like
this is a sign of progress towards equality to me. As I see it, all are entitled
to an opinion. Discouraging 'discussion' is a form of 'gate keeping' which is
responsible for a vast majority of men still being disassociated from their
feelings - an issue many women complain about but which mostly women are
responsible for. Do we really want our men to go back to beating their chests
and dragging women around by the hair? Open discussion is the only way to move
forward.

It stands
to be said; this is just my opinion...I mean no offense. Peace out lovelies.”

S – “PS: in all
honesty, I think this image has achieved its purpose. I think it was designed
to spark controversy. The marked differences in the portrayal of the two
women...the 'more attractive' in colour (vibrant, happy, appealing) but the
'less attractive' in black and white (sad, dull, unappealing)? C'mon
peoples...use your noggins. It's supposed to make you all jump up and down and
it’s done exactly that. ♥”

Now, although
I’ve talked a bit about feminism in this post, I’d really like it to be known
that I’m not an out and out feminist.
Yes I’m all for the womens rights movement but in all honesty I consider
myself an ‘equalist’. I want equal
rights. For both genders, from both genders. As was stated in my favourite response to the
offending photo…

M – “…This
is a legitimate complaint that speaks to a double standard whereby anything
women use to characterize men is okay - all is fair. But turnabout is not only
no longer fair play - it is outright forbidden. Ask yourself about the last
time you saw a man kick a woman in the genitals in a movie to comedic effect.
When that happens - you'll have equality. As long as special treatment is
demanded, the rift will remain.

When it's
no longer cool for anyone to humiliate anyone, and for everyone to be permitted
to poke fun at everyone to the same extent - then we'll have the society that
encodes the ERA into its hardware...”

This really resonated with me and I agree
wholeheartedly. Why do women today
expect equality from men but refuse to give it back in kind? It’s as if the feminist movement has swung
too far into over-compensation. There IS
a double standard used by women to characterise men that we as women would
never stand for.

I too
would like to see a movie where a woman was kicked in the crotch for comedic effect. If it’s OK for men, why not for women? It does a lot more damage to a guy so why is
it portrayed as an acceptable thing for anyone to do? How often have you seen this done in a movie
by another man? I’m sure they’re out
there but I cannot recall a single occasion when while watching a film I saw
this act perpetrated by anyone other than a woman. Yes, admittedly in supposed self-defense. But still.
It makes you wonder how women can rightfully demand equal treatment but
neglect this glaring inequality.

I’m aware
that there will be plenty who maintain that it’s a womans only true defense
against an aggressive man. I only agree
to a point, there are other alternatives.
That said, it should be acceptable for either both genders, or neither.

So how do
we deal with the inequities? Many women
for years have been crying foul; claiming (mostly correctly) that women have
been repressed by men for hundreds of years.
But how many of those women have ever recognised their own participation
in the active oppression of men?

Think
about it. How many times have you heard
a woman, be her mother, aunt, grandmother, sister or even just babysitter tell
a male child that ‘only girls cry’? Why
do only girls cry? For generation upon
generation women have been raising their male children to repress their own
emotions from a young age. And then we
wonder why men are shut off from their emotions? Really?
When we have actively been teaching them that the only emotion it is
acceptable for them to express is anger?

Oh sure, there are guys out there who are learning to cry. But be honest…can you really say you’re
comfortable with that? That at some
level it doesn’t make you think that a man is weak if he cries? Why do we still, in 2012, believe that crying is a sign of weakness in men but a sign of strength in women? Doesn't that strike you as a bit of a double standard?

Men should be encouraged to emote. They have been living a sort of half life for centuries, cut off from feeling for so long that they don't know how to navigate the mine fields of feeling and relationships. And then on top of that, we women, who have taught him that its not OK for him to feel anything but anger, bitch about our emotionally crippled partners and moan about how he doesn't do any of the socio-emotional work in our relationship. Why? Because its too difficult to make the decision to teach our male children how to embrace their emotions and deal with the fall out the way we try to teach our female children? That my friends is the crux of the issue. We raise our children to blindly follow example. To behave automatically without questioning. And then we cry about inequality.

Sorry
ladies but you can’t have it both ways.
If we want equality, true equality, it has to start in raising our
children to think differently - to question everything. To not just accept behaviour because it’s how
it has always been done. Critical
thinking (really? google it) is not a new concept but it is definitely one that must be learned. Until we do
this, until we teach our children to re-examine all that has gone before us, we have no hope of ever ending the war between the sexes and even less hope of
realising true equality.

And again, this all comes down to opinion. This is my opinion and I'm more than happy to have dialogue about it. The usual warnings come with this...play nice or go home is what it boils down to. Adult discussion welcome, childish stamping of feet and name calling is not.

June 13, 2012

I read an amusing blog post somewhere on the interwebs this morning and as I was reading the comments I was mildly amused to see this.

I always have a little chuckle when I see people commenting that they are the first commenter because they are invariably the second or third. It's almost like there is an unwritten law. As soon as you find yourself typing the words 'I'm the first commenter' the Universe will ensure that someone has beaten you to the punch. Kind of like Murphys law.

Anyhoo...great news; I moved into my new apartment yesterday. I have to wait till the weekend to get my washing machine in and there are a couple of carloads of smallish crap that I have to take over from where I am now but otherwise its done. I have so many boxes and crates of crap to unpack. I think I will be unpacking for at least a month. But I'll get through it and I'm determined to find space for everything. My most awesome friends from the Central Coast came up and helped me to
lift ALL the things yesterday and I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends. I
will assuredly be inviting them for a bang up dinner as soon as I am
unpacked and settled.

I had a lovely long hot shower before going to bed last night and I have to say it felt SO good. It was almost orgasmic it was so good. lol.

Sadly there is no phone line into my apartment so I'm going to be offline for the next couple of weeks while I try to get that sorted out. Anyone who needs to contact me should call or txt me if they have my number or otherwise email me at shevi@soulcraftingbyshevi.com.

I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, have fun and keep smiling. :oD

June 9, 2012

A lot has been happening in the last few weeks. I had a sudden unexpected change to certain living arrangements and had to look for a place to live at the same time as having to move some more of my stuff into storage which meant obtaining a larger storage space than the one that I already had. That was a particularly busy weekend. I had forgotten just how much stuff I had. O.o

I have been frantically looking at rentals and have to say that in the year and a half since I had my last rental, prices have gone way way up and quality has come way way down. Due to owning huge furniture I had to be a wee bit picky about what I could take so its been a bit frustrating to find that most of the places on the market wouldn't fit my couch let alone the rest of my stuff.

I finally found a half house that is both big enough (more or less) and that I can afford (just) and have arranged to sign the lease on the 12th of June. I cant wait. Everything I own has been in a paid storage facility for a year and a half and I'm pretty certain that unpacking is going to feel a little bit like Christmas as I've forgotten half of what I have in the multitude of boxes. I have had an overwhelming urge to nest in the last couple of months and knowing that I'm three days away from actually being able to begin nesting is a heady feeling.

I have had to put a hold on all the crafting for a little bit while I get things sorted and hope that I'll manage to unpack fairly quickly once I get everything into my new place. I want to have an update ready for the web store by the end of June so will be trying to organise a photo shoot with my lovely volunteer models. In amongst all of this I will be having my birthday which will most likely slip past quietly without me having time to even notice. ;o)

I've never considered birthdays to be a very big deal, but I would like to point out that this year is the big one. I'll be 42. Which anyone out there who has read Douglas Adams will know; is the answer. So I'm thinking I need to buy a teeshirt with the words 'mostly harmless' and the number 42 on it. If you've never read any Douglas Adams, you will have no idea what I'm talking about and should completely disregard this paragraph ;o)

Anyhoo, I'm off to get more sorting/packing/organising done. Until next time...dont forget to keep your towel handy.

April 28, 2012

I have spoken a lot about the crafts that I do but I haven't really gotten around to mentioning that I also love to do a bit of painting and drawing. I began drawing at an early age. I won my first art competition at the age of 5. I remember quite clearly that I won a book about pandas. I loved that book. I have no idea where it is now but I still remember it fondly. I think that book might have been the thing that sparked my fascination with Japan and Japanese culture. But that's a whole other blog post right there ;o)

I was very into art in school. In high school I entered an inter-school competition and won 2nd prize for my painting of a tiger. I don't have that painting anymore but I wish I did. After I left school I moved away from art and started studying computer stuff so that I could get a good job. But I kept dabbling with my paints in the background. In 2000 I did a short course run by my local (at the time) gallery called 'watercolour for beginners'. I. LOVED.IT. I did some more painting and drawing stuff when I went to TAFE to study design in my early 30's. Then I went to university to do a science degree and the art once again went on the shelf.

Lately I have been thinking about my art. I love the crafts, don't get me wrong, but nothing feels like creating something with a brush or pencil. I REALLY miss painting. I have so many ideas for things I'd like to paint. Sadly, I don't have any room where I am to set up my easel (what? Of COURSE I own an easel :oP). But it has got me thinking about where I want my life to go in the next few years.

Yes, I'll always do the craft thing and hopefully I will keep developing my ideas there. But I have BIG plans for my soft sculptures. Big BIG plans. Sadly, I just don't have any training in sculpture and I'd really like to take some time to dust off my painting and drawing skills (and maybe develop some new ones along the way). Sooooo...I've decided to go back to university. Part time if I can. I'm going to apply for the Bachelor of Fine Arts at University of Newcastle for the beginning of next year. This means I'll get to learn some new painting techniques but it also means that I can take some directed courses in soft sculpture. Now that's something to get excited about :oD

Here are some photos of work I've done in the past for you to enjoy. Please remember that these are all original artworks of mine and as such they are protected by international copyright and intellectual property laws. Please don't reproduce them ANYWHERE. You can link to them but please dont steal my work. Thanks.

Above are three charcoal nudes that I did in 2001. I had never used charcoal before this and I loved it. I really love the charcoal nude. There is an elegance to it that you don't find in nudes done with other mediums.

These are the watercolours I did during my beginners course. They are in order from first to last. I had never had a proper lesson in painting before this and I really enjoyed it.